Charulata (Bengali: চারুলতা, [t͡ʃaɾulɔt̪a] ; also known as The Lonely Wife) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based on Rabindranath Tagore's novella Nastanirh, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, and Shailen Mukherjee. The film is widely regarded as one of Ray’s finest works.
Both the opening and closing scenes of the film have received critical acclaim. The first scene, with minimal dialogue, depicts Charu’s loneliness as she observes the outside world through binoculars. In the final scene, as Charu and her husband are about to hold hands, the screen freezes—a technique praised as a masterful use of the freeze frame in cinema.
